An 8(a) firm is a small business in which the owners and operating parties are socially or economically disadvantaged.

An 8(a) firm is a small business that is owned and operated by socially and economically disadvantaged citizens and that has been accepted into the 8(a) Business Development Program. The 8(a) program helps aspiring entrepreneurs obtain government contracts and also includes mentoring, procurement assistance, training, financial assistance, management assistance, and technical assistance, among other benefits. The 8(a) status is outlined specifically in Section 8(a) of the Small Business Act, and is designed to help small, disadvantaged businesses compete in the general market. Through the 8(a) Business Development Program, owners can compete for special contracts, such as sole-source government contracts for which there are no competitive bids, that help level the playing field for their small businesses. An 8(a) firm is a small business that is owned and operated by socially and economically disadvantaged citizens and that has been accepted into the 8(a) Business Development Program.

8(a) Firm

An accommodation endorser is a business that agrees to back the credit obligations of another party. 

An accommodation endorser is a business that backs the credit liability of another. Similar to the way U.S. Treasuries are fully backed by the U.S. government when a parent company acts as an accommodation endorser, its reputation is now on the line for the loan. When an accommodation endorser or a co-signer lends their endorsement, the borrower benefits from the endorser's credit rating. When one company acts as an accommodation endorser, they put their reputation on the line for another company. An accommodation endorser is the corporate equivalent of a loan co-signer for an individual.

Accommodation Endorser

The Business Development Bank of Canada is an institution wholly owned by the gov't of Canada providing financial & consulting services to small businesses

The Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) was founded in 1944 to help Canadian entrepreneurs and small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs). The Business Development Bank of Canada provides financing, capital, and advisory services to Canadian entrepreneurs and SMEs. It was later known as the Federal Business Development Bank and became the Business Development Bank of Canada in 1995, when Parliament updated its structure and mandate. It must also fill gaps in the lending market by focusing on the financial needs of SMEs, knowledge-based industries, and traditional sectors, as well as serving entrepreneurs that traditional financial institutions often overlook, such as Aboriginals, women, and young people.

Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC)

"Belly up" is a slang term used to describe the complete and abject failure of an individual, corporation, bank, development project, etc.

Total Bankruptcy Filings Register Slight Increase in Calendar Year 2019; First Year-Over-Year Increase in Eight Years

December 2020 Bankruptcy Statistics - State and District

"Belly up" is an idiomatic expression in American English used to describe a business, organization, or institution that has ceased to exist or gone bankrupt. The phrase is a metaphor comparing the business in question to dead fish or another animal that has floated to the top of a body of water, with its belly facing upward, after it has died. If one were to say, “my father’s business went belly up in 1963,” one would not intend to mean that the business literally died, which would be impossible. If economic stagnation continues, however, the total number of bankruptcies might fall just because the rate of business formation falls along with confidence in the economy. A healthy economy might be a reason for an increase in total bankruptcies because the health of the economy could motivate more entrepreneurs to start new businesses.

Belly Up

A business credit score is a number indicating whether a company is a good candidate to receive a loan or become a business customer.

A business credit score is a number that indicates whether a company is a good candidate to receive a loan or become a business customer. Credit scoring firms calculate business credit scores, also called commercial credit scores, based on a company’s credit obligations and repayment histories with lenders and suppliers; any legal filings such as tax liens, judgments, or bankruptcies; how long the company has operated; business type and size; and repayment performance relative to that of similar companies.
If a company wanted to take out a loan to purchase equipment, one factor the lender would consider is the business’s credit score. Company A could check Company B’s business credit score first, then agree to do business only if Company B’s credit score showed that it had a strong history of paying its suppliers. Similarly, Company C, a wholesale supplier, might want to check the business credit score of Company D, a manufacturer, before shipping out a truckload of goods with an invoice granting Company D 30 days to pay. In the case of a small business, the lender might check both the business’s and owner’s credit scores, since the personal and business finances of small business owners are often closely intertwined.

Business Credit Score

The Small Business Lending Index is an index of business lending that is published by PayNet. 

The Small Business Lending Index (SBLI) is an index of business lending that is published by PayNet, a subsidiary of Equifax, that is generally considered to be a leading indicator of the economy. It is like the Small Business Lending Index (SBLI), but also measures small business financial stress and default risk, provides early warnings of future insolvency, and serves as a leading indicator of changes in unemployment rates on both the national level and for some U.S. states. The Small Business Lending Index (SBLI) utilizes PayNet's database of loans and leases from the largest commercial and industrial loan providers to measure the volume of small business loans issued over the past 30 days. The Small Business Lending Index (SBLI) is an index provided by PayNet that measures the number of new loans that are issued to small businesses in the past 30 days. The SBLI is considered to be a leading indicator of the economy, particularly gross domestic product (GDP), as small businesses react faster to changes in the economy than larger businesses.

Small Business Lending Index (SBLI)

Business process outsourcing (BPO) is a method of subcontracting various business-related operations to third-party vendors.

Business Process Outsourcing Industry Worldwide - Statistics & Facts

Business process outsourcing (BPO) is a method of subcontracting various business-related operations to third-party vendors. Although BPO originally applied solely to manufacturing entities, such as soft drink manufacturers that outsourced large segments of their supply chains, BPO now applies to the outsourcing of services, as well.
Business process outsourcing (BPO) utilizes third-party vendors or subcontractors to carry out certain parts of their business operations.
BPO began with large manufacturing companies to aid with supply chain management, but today BPO has grown to include all sorts of sectors, including services companies. Back office BPO refers to a company contracting its core business support operations such as accounting, payment processing, IT services, human resources, regulatory compliance, and quality assurance to outside professionals who ensure the business runs smoothly. BPO is the abbreviation for business process outsourcing, which refers to when companies outsource business processes to a third-party (external) company. Offshore outsourcing is a company that is in another country, and nearshore outsourcing is a company that is in a country that is not too far from your country.

Business Process Outsourcing (BPO)

The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) was a compendium of assistance programs offered by U.S. government agencies to the American public.

CFDA Transition Frequently Asked Questions Overview

Federal and State Technology Partnership Program

The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) was a compilation of federal U.S. assistance programs that provided a full listing of programs available to corporate and government agencies, United States territories, and members of the American public. The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) was a compilation of federal U.S. assistance programs that provided a full listing of programs available to corporate and government agencies, United States territories, and members of the American public. Some of the most common ones include:
The Department of Education's Federal Pell Grant Program (84.063), which subsidizes undergraduate education for students with financial need
The Department of Health and Human Services' Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (93.558) program (often referred to simply as welfare), which supplements the earnings of low-income families with children
The Department of Homeland Security's flood insurance (97.022) program, which is administered through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
Smaller programs also exist to benefit small businesses. The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) was a comprehensive list of federal assistance programs that is now available through the Assistance Listings section of the new site: SAM.gov. Entities seeking assistance to programs through the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) were required to have the authorization to conduct business with the federal government.

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA)

A charging order is a lien on the distributions of a limited partnership (LP) or limited liability corporation (LLC) so a creditor can recoup money owed.

LLC Asset Protection and Charging Orders: An Overview of State Laws

LLC Protection for Members' Personal Debt in California

Charging Orders and Taxes: Some of the Answers May Surprise You

A charging order is a court-authorized lien imposed by a creditor on distributions made from a business entity, such as a limited partnership (LP) or limited liability company (LLC). In particular, charging orders are used by claimants against limited partnerships (LPs) and limited liability companies (LLCs).
Creditors who have been granted a charging order are not allowed to join in the LLC's management, dissolve the LLC, or sell its assets without the other LLC members' consent.
A charging order allows an entity to place a lien and seize money owed to them by someone who is named as a member of a limited partnership (LP) or limited liability company (LLC). Personal creditors who have been granted a charging order cannot lay claim to the distributions owed to the other LLC members nor are they allowed to join in the LLC's management, dissolve the LLC, or sell its assets without the other LLC members' consent.﻿﻿ A charging order is a court-authorized lien imposed by a creditor on distributions made from a business entity, such as a limited partnership (LP) or limited liability company (LLC). Nor can the creditor interfere in the management of the business to which the debtor is a partner, member, or owner.​​​​​​​
A charging order is a court-authorized lien placed on distributions made from a business.

Charging Order

A conference call is an event where investors can hear detailed information about the most recent quarterly report and ask questions for more background.

A conference call is an event in which investors can listen to a company's management team detail aspects of the current quarter as well as forward, or projected, earnings growth. A conference call is an event in which investors can listen to a company's management team detail aspects of the current quarter as well as forward, or projected, earnings growth. The call typically begins with an uninterrupted message from management wherein the chief executive officer, chief financial officer, and other C-level executives greet participants and congratulate the internal team for a great quarter. If a company was the center of controversy, missed analyst's estimates or issued weak guidance, the call is an opportunity for management to address that weakness. Some questions you typically hear on a conference call involve financials, forward-looking statements, and background on business operations.

Conference Call

Cyberslacking refers to an employee’s use of work computers and other devices for personal matters during the work day.

Cyberslacking refers to an employee’s use of work computers and other resources during work hours for non-work-related purposes. An employee may use their time to scroll through social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, or simply browse news and content updates on sites unrelated to their work. As many companies use social networking sites as marketing channels and require employees to be up-to-date on trends and news, classifying these activities as either work or cyberslacking is challenging. Employers conducting this type of analysis in the past have seen a big jump in personal use for online shopping when retailers have massive sales like Black Friday or Cyber Monday.
When the idea of cyberslacking was still relatively new, many employers began to fear the negative impact on productivity.

Cyberslacking

Deliverables in project management refer to the quantifiable goods or services that will be provided upon the completion of a project. 

Table of Contents
What Are Deliverables?
Understanding Deliverables
Types of Deliverables
Requirements for Deliverables
The Bottom Line
The term "deliverables" is a project management term that's traditionally used to describe the quantifiable goods or services that must be provided upon the completion of a project. At the start of a project, it is important to clearly define project deliverables, which can be in the form of a SWOT analysis, a gap analysis, a project scope statement, a design presentation, or a Gantt chart. Internal deliverables in project management are commonly known as project deliverables. For example, in the planning phase, a deliverable might be a report outlining the entire project, whereas in the monitoring phase the deliverables will be to report on the quality of the new product that was created. These contracts can be drafted internally with different departments within an organization for project deliverables and with external clients for product deliverables.

Deliverables

Fair Market Value Purchase Option is the right, but not the obligation, to buy a leased asset at the end of the lease for a current value price.

A fair market value (FMV) purchase option is the right, but not the obligation, to buy a leased asset at the end of the lease term for a price that represents the item's then-current worth. A fair market value buyout allows a customer to utilize the equipment for a designated number of months with end-of-lease options to continue to lease the equipment, return the equipment and upgrade to new equipment, or purchase the equipment at the then determined fair market value price of the equipment. A fair market value buyout allows a customer to utilize equipment for a designated time, with options to continue the lease, return the equipment and upgrade, or purchase at the then-determined fair market value price. Because it is impossible to determine an item's fair market value in advance of the item's purchase date, a purchase price cannot be established in advance with a fair market value purchase option. The fair market value purchase option does not provide the purchase price in advance, but so long as the assessed fair market value is accurate, the consumer will not overpay for the asset and the lessor will not receive less than the asset is worth.

Fair Market Value Purchase Option

A Family Limited Partnership allows family members to own shares of a family business while securing estate and gift tax protections.

A Family Limited Partnership (FLP) is a type of arrangement in which family members pool money to run a business project. A family limited partnership (FLP) is a business or holding company owned by two or more family members in which each family member can buy shares in the venture for a potential profit. This means the couple can transfer $360,000 worth of FLP interests gift-tax free every year (assuming the gift tax exclusion remains the same). Every year, individuals can gift FLP interests tax-free to other individuals up to the annual gift tax exclusion. Each family member buys units or shares of the business and can profit in proportion to the number of shares they own, as outlined in the partnership operating agreement.

Family Limited Partnership (FLP)

When an organization wants to outline its capital expectations, it may create a financial operating plan (FOP).

A financial operating plan (FOP) is a financial plan outlining the revenues and expenses over a period of time. Similar to a business plan for a new company, a financial operating plan helps managers and key investors understand how the company will operate and grow in the future. A financial operating plan (FOP) is a financial plan outlining the revenues and expenses over a period of time. A financial operating plan (FOP) outlines a firm's financial situation for the current and future periods. While a financial operating plan can layout an organization’s internal expectations, external influences can affect the trajectory and follow-through of that plan.

Financial Operating Plan (FOP)

In a gig economy, temporary jobs are commonplace and companies tend to hire independent contractors and freelancers instead of full-time employees.

Table of Contents
What Is the Gig Economy? During 2020, the gig economy experienced significant increases as gig workers have delivered necessities to home-bound consumers, and those whose jobs had been eliminated turned to part-time and contract work for income. While not all employers are inclined to hire contracted employees, the gig economy trend can make it harder for full-time employees to develop in their careers since temporary employees are often cheaper to hire and more flexible in their availability. Colleges and universities can cut costs and match professors to their academic needs by hiring more adjunct and part-time professors.
America is well on its way to establishing a gig economy, and estimates show as much as a third of the working population is already in some gig capacity. Flexibility in a gig economy often means that workers have to make themselves available any time gigs come up, regardless of their other needs, and must always be on the hunt for the next gig.

Gig Economy

An independent contractor is a person or entity engaged in a work performance agreement with another entity as a non-employee.

Self-Employment Tax (Social Security and Medicare Taxes)

Questions and Answers for the Additional Medicare Tax

Here's what taxpayers need to know about the home office deduction

Table of Contents
What Is an Independent Contractor?
Understanding Independent Contractors
How to Pay Taxes as an Independent Contractor
Pros and Cons of Being an Independent Contractor Example of an Independent Contractor
The Bottom Line
How Do You Become an Independent Contractor?
Frequently Asked Questions
An independent contractor is a self-employed person or entity contracted to perform work for—or provide services to—another entity as a nonemployee. If an independent contractor earns more than $599 from a single-payer, that payer is required to issue the contractor a 1099 form detailing their earnings for the year.
Independent contractors must decide how much freedom they need versus how much risk they are willing to assume. For the tax year 2021, independent contractors pay 12.4% in Social Security contributions on the first $142,800 of net income) and 2.9% in Medicare taxes on all net income. In addition, an entity that uses the services of an independent contractor is not required to provide them with employment benefits, such as health insurance and employer-sponsored retirement accounts that the entity may otherwise provide to its employees.

Independent Contractor

An inside sale happens when customers are sold products and services through the phone or online rather than at the vendor's physical location.

Inside sales means the sale of products or services by personnel who reach customers through phone, email, or the internet. For example, an inside sales individual within a department may handle the legwork of creating and organizing sales appointments for outside sales personnel, otherwise known as lead generation. For example, Oracle Corp. pays its inside sales reps an average salary of $50,565 while State Farm Insurance Company offers its sales reps an average salary of $29,661, according to PayScale's data. Unlike telemarketers who read from scripts, inside sales reps are highly trained, creative people, who determine a sales strategy for selling products and services to customers. The advent of the telephone and its use as a sales tool gave birth to the distinction between inside and outside sales.

Inside Sales

An investment club is a group of people who pool their money to make investments, usually through a legal partnership.

Publication 550 (2019): Investment Income and Expenses (Including Capital Gains and Losses)

General Information on the Regulation of Investment Advisers

Capital Gains Tax: Investment Club Certificate (185)

An investment club refers to a group of people who pool their money to make investments. Some clubs have made significant returns for their members, but even the money losing investment clubs provide important lessons that members will take with them into the future. Individual states may require registration but generally investment clubs do not have to if they have a small number of clients or participants.
In the United Kingdom, investment clubs are considered unincorporated associations and are not regulated or taxed as corporations. In the U.K., investment club members are required to file Form 185 Capital Gains Tax: investment club certificate. Usually, investment clubs are organized as partnerships—after the members study different investments, the group decides to buy or sell based on a majority vote of the members.

Investment Club

Invoice financing is a way for businesses to borrow money against the amounts due from customers.

Invoice financing is a way for businesses to borrow money against the amounts due from customers. As an alternative, a business could use invoice discounting, which is similar to invoice factoring except that the business, not the lender, collects payments from customers, so customers are not aware of the arrangement. Invoice financing benefits lenders because, unlike extending a line of credit, which may be unsecured and leave little recourse if the business does not repay what it borrows, invoices act as collateral for invoice financing. Assuming the lender receives full payment for the invoices, it will then remit the remaining 15% to 30% of the invoice amounts to the business, and the business will pay interest and/or fees for the service. Invoice financing is a form of short-term borrowing that is extended by a lender to its business customers based on unpaid invoices.

Invoice Financing

The long tail is a strategy that allows businesses to realize significant profit out of selling low volumes of hard-to-find items to many customers.

The long tail is a business strategy that allows companies to realize significant profits by selling low volumes of hard-to-find items to many customers, instead of only selling large volumes of a reduced number of popular items. The long tail is a business strategy that allows companies to realize significant profits by selling low volumes of hard-to-find items to many customers, instead of only selling large volumes of a reduced number of popular items.
The term was first coined in 2004 by researcher Chris Anderson.
Anderson argues that these goods could actually increase in profitability because consumers are navigating away from mainstream markets.
The strategy theorizes that consumers are shifting from mass-market buying to more niche or artisan buying.
The long tail of distribution represents a period in time when sales for less common products can return a profit due to reduced marketing and distribution costs. The long tail also serves as a statistical property that states a larger share of population rests within the long tail of a probability distribution as opposed to the concentrated tail that represents a high level of hits from the traditional mainstream products highly stocked by mainstream retail stores.
The head and long tail graph depicted by Anderson in his research represents this complete buying pattern. The long tail is a business strategy that allows companies to realize significant profits by selling low volumes of hard-to-find items to many customers, instead of only selling large volumes of a reduced number of popular items. This theory is supported by the growing number of online marketplaces that alleviate the competition for shelf space and allow an unmeasurable number of products to be sold, specifically through the Internet.
Anderson’s research shows the demand overall for these less popular goods as a comprehensive whole could rival the demand for mainstream goods.

Long Tail

Manufacturing Resource Planning (MRP II) evolved from early Materials Requirement Planning (MRP) systems by including the integration of additional data, such as employee and financial needs.

Manufacturing Resource Planning (MRP II) is an integrated information system used by businesses. MRP I included the following three major functionalities:
master production scheduling
bill of materials
inventory tracking
MRP II includes those three, plus the following:
machine capacity scheduling
demand forecasting
quality assurance
general accounting
MRP II systems are still in wide use by manufacturing companies today and can either be found as stand-alone solutions or as part of an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. Both MRP and MRP II are seen as predecessors to Enterprise resource planning (ERP).
MRP II is an extension of the original materials requirements planning (MRP I) system. MRP II was provided as a solution, which included this functionality in addition to all the capabilities offered by MRP I.
The following are a small sampling of some popular MRP II software providers, as of early 2020:
FactoryEdge
Oracle Netsuite Manufacturing Edition
S2K Enterprise ERP is most frequently used in the context of software, with many large applications having been developed to help companies implement ERP.
MRP II is a computer-based system that can create detailed production schedules using real-time data to coordinate the arrival of component materials with machine and labor availability.

Manufacturing Resource Planning (MRP II)

A media kit is a package of information assembled by a company to provide basic information about itself to reporters.

A media kit is a package of information, assembled by a company, to provide basic information about itself to reporters. The media kit is a promotional public relations tool that can serve several functions, including promoting the launch of a new company, promoting the launch of a new product or service by an existing company, giving a company a way to present itself as it would like to be seen, and/or saving time, by eliminating the need for a company's employees to repeatedly answer the same questions. The media kit commonly provides the company's official name; the names, titles and biographies of its most important people; information about the company's history and function; photos; and any press releases the company has had written about itself. A media kit can be as simple as a page on a company's website or as complex as a package of information and product samples sent to selected members of the media. A media kit can also provide contact information for reporters, who seek additional information or want to interview someone at the company.

Media Kit

A multiple employer welfare arrangement (MEWA) is a vehicle for marketing health and welfare benefits to employers for their employees.

A multiple employer welfare arrangement (MEWA) is a system for marketing health and welfare benefits to employers, for their employees. Overall, a multiple employer welfare arrangement is a good way for smaller employers to get group health and other insurance benefits for their employers. A multiple employer welfare arrangement (MEWA) is a system for marketing health and welfare benefits to employers, for their employees. A multiple employer welfare arrangement (MEWA) is a way for a group of employers to pool their resources to get their employees better health-insurance options. With a MEWA, several employers combine contributions in a self-contributing benefits plan, making payments based on the number of employees and the estimated costs.

Multiple Employer Welfare Arrangement (MEWA)

A microenterprise is a small-scale business that employs a small number of employees—if any at all.

The term microenterprise, also known as a microbusiness, refers to a small business that employs few people. Microenterprises are small businesses that are financed by microcredit, a small loan available to people who have no collateral, credit history, savings, or employment history. Types of businesses that are considered microenterprises include the following:
Lawn and landscaping companies
Street vendors
Independent mechanics
Machine shop operators
Small farmers
Bakery owners and caterers may be counted as microenterprises, as can seamstresses, dry cleaners, and tailors. They can boost purchasing power, improve income, and create jobs.
Microfinance seeks to help microenterprises by loaning small amounts of capital to these businesses. People who support microenterprises and microcredit say these opportunities give people an escape from poverty, providing them with viable employment opportunities and a regular income.

Microenterprise

"Mom-and-pop" is a colloquial term used to describe a small, family-owned or independent business. These types of operations often struggle to compete with more substantial establishments.

"Mom-and-pop" is a colloquial term used to describe a small, family-owned, or independent business. In many ways, mom-and-pop businesses stand at a steep disadvantage to large corporations, e-commerce companies, technology platforms, and franchise businesses, who enjoy bigger economies of scale, greater access to capital for investments, larger advertising budgets, higher brand awareness, greater access to talent pools for hiring, etc.
This collectively gives larger players a competitive edge over mom-and-pop businesses, _who frequently, lose ground and find themselves forced out of business in response._
Fortunately, there are signs of hope for mom-and-pop stores. 1:23
Mom-and-pop stores were historically used to describe local family owned and operated general stores or drugstores. Traditional mom-and-pop businesses, like bookstores and pharmacies, have found it financially difficult to compete with large chain stores. Mom-and-pop businesses benefit from local consumers who are determined to pump their money into their communities to promote local economic growth.

Mom-and-Pop

A personal service corporation is a corporation that is created for the purpose of providing personal services to individuals or groups. 

A personal service corporation is a corporation that is created to provide personal services to individuals or groups. According to the IRS, a person may be considered an employee-owner of a personal care corporation if the following conditions are met:
1.  They are an employee of the corporation or performs personal services for, or on behalf of, the corporation (even if they are an independent contractor for other purposes) on any day of the testing period. If individual functions as the owner/employee of a personal service corporation and their primary business is related to creative/fine arts or photography, any current expenses they incur pursuant to creative work are deductible for the corporation. For these C Corporations to be considered a personal service corporation by the IRS, the employee-owners must perform at least 20% of the personal services themselves. The services provided by a personal service corporation may include any activity performed in the following fields: accounting, engineering, architecture, consulting, actuarial science, law, performing arts and health, including veterinary services.

What Is a Personal Service Corporation?

A Program Evaluation Review Technique (PERT) chart is a project management tool that graphs a project's timeline according to the individual tasks.

Application of a Technique for Research and Development Program Evaluation, Sept.-Oct. 1959

A PERT chart is a project management tool that provides a graphical representation of a project's timeline. A PERT chart helps a project manager analyze a project's tasks and estimate the amount of time required to complete each task in the project. A PERT chart is similar to a critical path analysis (CPA), which is another method that project managers use to chart tasks in a project. For example, if an arrow is drawn from Task No. 1 to Task No. 2 on a PERT chart, Task No. 1 must be completed before work on Task No. 2 begins.
Items at the same stage of production but on different task lines within a project are referred to as parallel tasks. Using the PERT model, Navy project managers were able to evaluate the progress of their project, determine the validity of schedules, and estimate the effects of proposed changes to established plans.

Program Evaluation Review Technique (PERT) Chart

Presenteeism is a situation where workers who are physically present at the workplace are not operating at maximum capability due to illness, injury, or another condition.

Lost Productive Time and Cost Due to Common Pain Conditions in the US Workforce

Associations Between Activities Outside Work and Presenteeism Among Korean Wage Workers: An Analysis Using a Nationwide Survey

Presenteeism: A Review of Current Thinking

Presenteeism refers to the lost productivity that occurs when employees are not fully functioning in the workplace because of an illness, injury, or other condition. Although not tracked like absenteeism, the costs of presenteeism have been estimated to be larger in real terms as employees suffering from longer-term conditions see persistent drops in productivity.﻿ It is important to note that employees contributing to presenteeism are, by definition, trying to give their best efforts but are physically or mentally unable to do so. Lastly, in the case of a physically sick employee who shows up to work, there is a possibility that that employee's illness will spread to other workers resulting in more presenteeism and absenteeism. In these situations, employees are attempting to work despite their particular problem and the result is a less productive work day than that employee can typically deliver. As the employee is present and working, it is difficult for managers to see the productivity gap as clearly as when an employee is absent from work.

Presenteeism

A press release is a newsworthy or informational article, often issued by a firm's PR department.

A press release is a piece of news or information that companies send out to inform the public about something noteworthy or of material significance. A press release is produced by the company's PR department, and not reporters or journalists, so it takes a subjective interpretation of the announcement.
The two largest publishers of press releases are Business Wire and PR Newswire (PRN). In addition to financial figures, press releases list valuable contact information that can assist investors in their research, like the company's web address, and contact and address information. Companies issue press releases, which may be spread to a wider audience through the use of a newswire service, to announce things like a new product, quarterly earnings reports, an impending merger, or any other material information. A press release is a piece of news or information that companies send out to inform the public about something noteworthy or of material significance.

Press Release

Every product has a life cycle, and reevaluating it at each phase is considered important to managing its commercial success.

The term product life cycle refers to the length of time a product is introduced to consumers into the market until it's removed from the shelves. Those that aren't able to may experience an increase in their marketing and production costs, ultimately leading to the limited shelf life for their product(s).
Back in 1965, Theodore Levitt, a marketing professor, wrote in the Harvard Business Review that the innovator is the one with the most to lose because so many truly new products fail at the first phase of their life cycle—the introductory stage. A product life cycle is the amount of time a product goes from being introduced into the market until it's taken off the shelves. The process of strategizing ways to continuously support and maintain a product is called product life cycle management.

Product Life Cycle

A product recall involves removing harmful, defective, or poor quality consumer products from the market.

A product recall is the process of retrieving defective and/or potentially unsafe goods from consumers while providing those consumers with compensation. A product recall may be voluntary or mandated by a regulatory body such as the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) in the U.S.
Product recalls occur as a result of safety or quality concerns related to a manufacturing or design defect in a product that may harm its users. For example, if a pet food manufacturer releases a batch of product that contains an ingredient that may accidentally poison animals, the company will publicly announce the dangers of the food and request that its customers return the product to the firm, or simply discard it. Note that manufacturers are often able to purchase product recall insurance policies to cover the expenses and financial losses related to a recall if it were to arise. If concerns grow over a company's status or reputation when a dangerous product is released customers may turn away from purchasing its goods in the future, leading to lower revenues and profits.

Product Recall

Public relations is the art of managing how information about an individual or company is disseminated to the public.

Chick-fil-A Response to Recent Controversy

Attorney General Becerra: Target Settles Record $18.5 Million Credit Card Data Breach Case

Public relations (PR) is the set of techniques and strategies related to managing how information about an individual or company is disseminated to the public, and especially the media. PR is essential to any company's success, especially when shares in the company are publicly traded and the value of a share depends on the public's confidence in a company or brand. PR differs from advertising in that PR attempts to represent a person or brand's image in ways that will appear organic, such as generating good press from independent sources and recommending business decisions that will incur public support. Occasionally, PR professionals engage in negative PR or willful attempts to discredit a rival brand or company, although such practices are not in keeping with the industry's code of ethics. Public relations (PR) is the set of techniques and strategies related to managing how information about an individual or company is disseminated to the public, and especially the media.

Public Relations (PR)

Qualified small business stock (QSBS) refers to shares in a qualified small business that are subject to special capital gains tax rules.

Find Out if Net Investment Income Tax Applies to You

Qualified small business stock (QSBS) refers to shares of a qualified small business (QSB) as defined by the Internal Revenue Code (IRC). Eligible individuals meeting certain criteria are able to receive tax benefits if they hold qualified small business stock (QSBS).
Qualified small business stock (QSBS) refers to shares of a qualified small business (QSB) as defined by the Internal Revenue Code (IRC). Qualified small business stock (QSBS) can be eligible for a capital gains exclusion of up to 100%.
Additionally, there are holding requirements for the full exclusion of alternative minimum tax (AMT) and net investment income (NII) tax. Qualified small business stock (QSBS) refers to shares of a qualified small business (QSB) as defined by the Internal Revenue Code (IRC). A qualified small business stock (QSBS) is any stock acquired from a QSB after Aug. 10, 1993.

Qualified Small Business Stock (QSBS)

A QSEHRA, or small business HRA, is an employer-sponsored health coverage subsidy for employees of businesses with fewer than 50 full-time employees.

Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs) for Small Employers

ADDITIONAL RELIEF FOR CORONAVIRUS DISEASE (COVID-19) UNDER § 125 CAFETERIA PLANS

Health Reimbursement Arrangements and Other Account-Based Group Health Plans

A qualified small employer health reimbursement arrangement (QSEHRA), also known as a small business HRA, is a health coverage subsidy plan designed for employees of businesses with fewer than 50 full-time employees. A qualified small employer health reimbursement arrangement (QSEHRA), also known as a small business HRA, is a health coverage subsidy plan designed for employees of businesses with fewer than 50 full-time employees. During this period, small businesses could be hit with penalties of $100 per employee per day for being out of compliance with the requirements of the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
To qualify to use a QSEHRA, a business must have fewer than 50 full-time employees, provide the QSEHRA on the same terms to all full-time workers, and not have a group health plan or a flexible spending arrangement (FSA)—A Among other things, Notice 2020-29 allows employees who initially declined employer-sponsored health coverage an opportunity to enroll in, switch, or drop health coverage or employer-sponsored health coverage. In the 2021 tax year, a company with a QSEHRA may reimburse single employees up to $5,300 per year and employees with families up to $10,700 per year.

Qualified Small Employer Health Reimbursement Arrangement (QSEHRA)

A roll-up merger is the purchase of two or more companies in the same type of business with the intention of combining them into one company.

A roll-up merger is the purchase of two or more competitors in an industry with the intention of combining them into one larger company. The roll-up merger combines multiple small companies into a single larger entity that is better positioned for economies of scale. Fragmentation is an opportunity for a private equity company or another group of investors to consolidate the existing smaller businesses in a roll-up merger. A classic example of a roll-up merger was Waste Management Inc., a company that was formed in 1968 to combine more than 100 smaller local trash haulers. As an additional incentive, larger companies are usually valued at a higher multiple of earnings than smaller companies.

Roll-Up Merger

A self-employed person is an independent contractor or sole proprietor who reports income earned from self-employment. 

Self-Employed Individuals Tax Center: Who Is Self-Employed?

401(k) contribution limit increases to $19,500 for 2020; catch-up limit rises to $6,500

Self-Employed Individuals Tax Center: How Do I Make My Quarterly Payments?

Publication 587 Business Use of Your Home

Table of Contents
Who Is a Self-Employed Person?
How It Works for Self-Employed Persons
Benefits of Self-Employment
Disadvantages of Self-Employment A self-employed person in the United States, as defined by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), is one who:
Engages in a trade or business as a sole proprietor or an independent contractor
Is a member of a partnership involved in a trade or business
Is otherwise in business for themselves (including a part-time endeavor)
In other words, a self-employed person is anyone who earns their living from any independent pursuit of economic activity as opposed to earning a living working for a company or another individual (an employer). The business structures that self-employed people may choose include independent contractors, sole proprietorships, partnerships, corporations, S corporations, and limited liability companies (LLCs).
Self-employed individuals are generally highly skilled at a particular kind of work. On top of income tax, they also must generally pay a self-employment tax, which is a Social Security and Medicare tax for the self-employed that was 15.3% as of 2020 (12.4% for Social Security on the first $137,700; 2.9% for Medicare with no ceiling). A self-employed person is an independent contractor or a sole proprietor who reports self-employment income.

Self-Employed Person

A self-employed individual does not work for a specific employer who pays them a consistent salary or wage.

Independent Contractor (Self-Employed) or Employee?

NPR Marist Poll National Nature of the Sample and Tables January 2018

2019 Gig Economy and Self-Employment Report

Table of Contents
What Is Self-Employment? However, the report took pains to point out in an executive summary that “it is important to note this research was conducted before the COVID-19 pandemic, which has clearly impacted the way Americans work today.”﻿﻿﻿ With the increasing prevalence of Americans working from home or losing jobs due to the pandemic, it’s very likely that the ranks of the self-employed have swelled even more.
The percent of the workforce that is self-employed as of 2017 (the most recent figure as of late 2020)
A self-employed person must file annual taxes and pay estimated quarterly tax. According to a Gallup survey commissioned by Quickbooks and published in 2019, as of 2017 (the most recent figure as of early 2020), self-employed people and their employees accounted for 28% of the workforce in the United States (including people with multiple jobs who are both employees and self-employed). 1:34
Although the precise definition of self-employment varies among the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and private research firms, those who are self-employed include independent contractors, sole proprietors of businesses, and individuals engaged in partnerships. Sole proprietors are the only owners of unincorporated businesses, while partnerships involve two or more self-employed people who form a business together.﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿ Independent contractors, sole proprietors, and partnerships often hire a small number of employees to help them with their work.

Self-Employment

The Small Business Administration is a U.S. government agency established to promote and strengthen the overall economy by assisting small businesses.

The Small Business Administration (SBA) is an autonomous U.S. government agency established in 1953 to bolster and promote the economy in general by providing assistance to small businesses. Other SBA-guaranteed loan programs include
Express loan
CAPLines loan
Disaster loan
Export loan
Microloan The Small Business Administration (SBA) is an autonomous U.S. government agency established in 1953 to bolster and promote the economy in general by providing assistance to small businesses. Localized SBA offices throughout the United States and associated territories offer in-person, one-on-one counseling services that include business plan writing instruction, and assistance with small business loans. Though attempts to cut the agency’s loan program saw significant resistance in Congress, the SBA’s budget was cut repeatedly every year between 2001 to 2004, when certain SBA expenditures were frozen altogether.

Small Business Administration (SBA)

A small business development center (SBDC) provides marketing, financing, and business-related assistance to local entrepreneurs.

SBDC advisors provide aspiring and current small business owners a variety of free business consulting and low-cost training services including business plan development, manufacturing assistance, technology development, lending assistance, exporting and importing support, disaster recovery assistance, procurement and contracting aid, market research help, 8(a) support, and healthcare guidance. SBDCs exist as a partnership between the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and usually a local college or university, with the purpose to help foster small businesses and jobs by providing educational resources to business owners and those looking to start a business. Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs) provide business-related assistance and knowledge to help entrepreneurs start, run, and grow their business. Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs) provide free marketing, financing, and business-related assistance to local entrepreneurs.

Small Business Development Center (SBDC)

A small corporate offering registration (SCOR) is a simplified means for smaller companies to raise capital by issuing shares.

Small Businesses Generate 44 Percent of U.S. Economic Activity

Small Corporate Offering Registration (SCOR)

Latest Filings Received and Processed at the SEC

Small Corporate Offering Registration (SCOR) Instructions

A small corporate offering registration (SCOR) is a simplified means for smaller companies to raise capital by issuing shares. They include partnerships, petroleum exploration, and production companies; mining and other extraction companies; holding or portfolio companies; commodity pools, equipment leasing or real estate programs; blind pools; companies regulated by a regulator other than the SEC; certain public companies; and a few other exceptions.
Individual states may have their own SCOR program filing requirements. A small corporate offering registration (SCOR) is a slimmed-down filing process that makes it easy for smaller companies to raise capital. A small corporate offering registration (SCOR) is a simplified means for smaller companies to raise capital by issuing shares. SCOR provides an exemption from the normal registration requirements of federal securities laws for companies that offer and sell up to $5 million of their securities in any 12-month period.

Small Office/Home Office (SOHO) refers to small professional businesses that are often run out of homes, or even virtually. 

Simplified Option for Home Office Deduction

Table of Contents
What Is a SOHO? The term small office/home office (SOHO) refers to a small business that is often run out of small office spaces, homes, or even virtually. Sharing office spaces with others or running their operations out of their homes allows business owners to cut out or reduce the costs of certain overhead expenses related to business operations, including:
Rent and leases
Tools and equipment
Maintenance
The Internal Revenue Service allows individuals to take deductions for home offices, as long as expenses aren't provided by a larger, corporate entity. As such, SOHOs are usually run by white-collar professionals, such as entrepreneurs, lawyers, consultants, accountants, bookkeepers, and financial advisors, who may not need a formal office to meet clients or who have a dedicated formal office within their home, hence the reason for home office in the term. A small office/home office is a small business.

Small Office/Home Office (SOHO)

A small and mid-size enterprise (SME) is a business that maintains revenues, assets or a number of employees below a certain threshold.

Small and mid-size enterprises (SMEs) are businesses that maintain revenues, assets or a number of employees below a certain threshold. Each country has its own definition of what constitutes a small and medium-sized enterprise (SME).
Small and mid-size enterprises (SMEs) play an important role in the economy, employing vast numbers of people and helping to shape innovation.
Governments regularly offer incentives, including favorable tax treatment and better access to loans, to help keep them in business.
In the United States, there is no distinct way to identify small and mid-size enterprises (SMEs). Though small in size, small and mid-size enterprises (SMEs) play an important role in the economy. They also offer education programs, coaching small and mid-size enterprise (SME) business owners on how to make their businesses grow and survive, as well as special audit programs to target high-risk areas and boost tax compliance. Governments recognize the importance of small and mid-size enterprises (SMEs) in the economy and regularly offer incentives, including favorable tax treatment and better access to loans, to help keep them in business.

Small and Mid-size Enterprise (SME)

Social media sites and apps help people share ideas and build communities. See how social media can help you grow your business and gain customers.

Social Media: What Countries Use It Most & What Are They Using?

DIGITAL 2020: 3.8 BILLION PEOPLE USE SOCIAL MEDIA

Social media usage in the United States - Statistics & Facts

Daily time spent on social networking by internet users worldwide from 2012 to 2020

Most popular social networks worldwide as of January 2021, ranked by number of active users

2. Social media users more likely to interact with people who are different from them

Table of Contents
What Is Social Media?
Understanding Social Media
Types of Social Media
Examples of Social Media
Benefits of Social Media
Social Media FAQs
The Bottom Line The figures for the most popular social media websites as of January 2021 are as follows:
1.  Facebook (2.74 billion users)
2.  YouTube (2.29 billion users)
3.  WhatsApp (2 billion users)
4.  Facebook Messenger (1.3 billion users)
5.  Instagram (1.22 billion users)
6.  Whatsapp (1.21 billion users)
7.  TikTok (689 million users)
8.  QQ (617 million users)
9.  Douyin (600 million users)
10.  Sino Weibo (511 million users)
Facebook, YouTube, and WhatsApp are the world's largest social media networks. The most popular social media site is Facebook.
Social media marketing is the use of social networks in order to market a company's products, such as through Facebook or Instagram ads, using influencers, or otherwise building a presence online to engage with customers. The six types of social media, though this can be broken down in many ways, include social networking, bookmarking, social news, media sharing, microblogging, and online forum sites. Facebook is the largest social media platform in the world, with a clear advantage over other social media, though it has similar audiences to others like Twitter and Instagram.

Social Media : Sharing Ideas & Thoughts

A sole proprietorship or sole trader is an unincorporated business with a single owner who pays personal income tax on profits earned from the business.

Table of Contents
Expand How Do You Start a Sole Proprietorship?
Is Sole Proprietor the Same as Self-Employed?
How Do You File Taxes as a Sole Proprietor?
Should I Form an LLC or Sole Proprietorship?
How Do You Convert a Sole Proprietorship to an LLC?
The Bottom Line
A sole proprietorship—also referred to as a sole trader or a proprietorship—is an unincorporated business that has just one owner who pays personal income tax on profits earned from the business. To pay taxes, sole proprietors must fill out Form 1040 and Schedule C.
A sole proprietorship is very different from a corporation (corp.), a limited liability company (LLC), or a limited liability partnership ( LLP), in that no separate legal entity is created. With a sole proprietorship, you don't need a business checking account, as other business structures are required to have. However, the profits of the sole proprietorship are also the profits of the owner, as all profits flow directly to the business's owner.

Sole Proprietorship

A sunrise industry is a sector or business that is in its infancy but growing at a rapid pace.

Sunrise industry is a colloquial term for a burgeoning sector or business in its infancy stage showing promise of a rapid boom. It was a sunrise industry in the 1990s as compact discs replaced vinyl records and cassette tapes, but the rapid adoption of digital, nonphysical media in the 21st century could mean that the compact-disc industry's days are numbered. A sunrise industry is often characterized by a high degree of innovation, and its rapid emergence may threaten to push into obsolescence a competing industry sector that is already in decline. A sunrise industry is a new business or business sector showing potential for substantial and rapid growth. Examples of sunrise industries include the alternative energy industry between 2003 and 2007 and social media and cloud computing industries in 2011 and 2012.

Sunrise Industry

A third-party transaction is a business deal with a buyer, a seller, and a third party. The third party's involvement varies with the type of transaction.

A third-party transaction is a business deal that involves a person or entity other than the main participants. The seller’s account may be credited in minutes or days, but the funds may be withdrawn to a bank account or used to conduct other transactions once the deposit has been made in the account.
PayPal is one good example of an online payment portal that acts as a third party in a retail transaction. A third-party transaction often involves a seller, a buyer, and an additional party not connected to the others. It may include designing the particulars of the deal in question, providing a specific service for a company that is slightly outside its wheelhouse, serving as the middleman that connects two parties, or serving as the means of receiving payment from the buyer and forwarding that payment to the seller. As technology evolves and changes the way interactions are handled in the digital era, more people and businesses are participating in third-party transactions through online payment platforms.

Third-Party Transaction

The Walmart Effect is a term used to refer to the economic impact felt by local businesses when a large company like Walmart opens a store in the area.

The Walmart Effect is a term used to refer to the economic impact felt by local businesses when a large company like Walmart (WMT) opens a location in the area. Walmart's insistence on procuring products at lower prices from suppliers means that suppliers must find ways to make their products for less money, or else they could be forced to take losses if they choose to sell through Walmart.
The exposure of selling merchandise through Walmart may increase consumers’ awareness of a product; however, the cost of delivering that product to market may be pushed back upon the supplier. The Walmart Effect is a term used to refer to the economic impact felt by local businesses when a large company like Walmart (WMT) opens a location in the area. The term Walmart Effect was first used in the 1990s, but Charles Fishman wrote a book entitled “The Wal-Mart Effect” in 2006 which details how economies are affected by Walmart. The Walmart Effect can also affect suppliers, who must drive their production costs down in order to afford to sell to Walmart.

Walmart Effect

A wash-out round is when the owners and management of a company stand to lose control to a new round of investors.

A wash-out round (also known as "burn-out round" or "cram-down deal") is when a round of new financing usurps control of previous equity holders. Depending on how the deal is structured, existing management may be retained but are likely to be replaced (i.e. washed out).
In many cases, a wash-out round of financing is offered with the intent of seizing control of a company, perhaps to gain access to assets new investors and management believe they can leverage. A wash-out round is a round of financing whereby new investors effectively take control of the company from existing equity holders. However, the new owners might find that the best return on investment for a wash-out round is to find buyers for assets of the company, such as intellectual property, product lines, or customer databases. It is possible that some of the company’s previous management might remain with the company; however, there is a high propensity for the leadership to be removed in a wash-out round.

Small Business

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